I'm Still Here
by booksmaketheworldgoround
Summary: Killian Jones had a rule when it came to beautiful women with a dark past. Love them hard, then get out before the past can cause you trouble. And he had always been good about sticking to it. But when a mysterious princess comes hurtling into town, running from a sorcerer with a vendetta, and memories of living as a swan...well, he'd never been that good at following rules anyway.
1. Chapter 1

_Once Upon A Time basically grabbed me by the hair this summer and wouldn't let me go. And, like I always do when I find something I love, I can't stop myself from wanting to write about it. This is an Hook/OC character because he is just unreal, and as much as I love him and Emma I really wanted to try out how an O/C romance with him would fit into Storybrooke! I had a couple of different female fairy tale characters that I was bouncing between using, but the one I finally decided on is a story that I feel just fits very well with the whole "fairy tales translated to modern day" thing. Hopefully you'll enjoy it too._

 _Disclaimer: Obviously, I own nothing that I write about. If I did, I'd be in the TV show causing havoc*_

 _*sitting quietly in the corner trying not to fangirl over everyone_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 **She stood in front of** ** _him_** **, the man who had killed her father and exiled her to the very edge of her own kingdom. He, who had stolen the crown that was hers by right and used its power to push her people down under the sole of his boot. She felt the air around her crackle and buzz with dark magic as her anger grew, and she let a smile lift the corners of her mouth. Soon, the evil that plagued her castle and her land would be defeated. Soon, she would stand victorious.**

The wheels of the car screamed in protest as they twisted sharply against the tarmac of the road. The woman inside barely noticed the noise as she pulled hard on the gear stick. She just had to get far enough away, it would all be alright if she could just _get away_. Where? It didn't matter. Somewhere quiet, unknown, out of the way. Off the map, so to speak. Just as long as she couldn't be found. A sign whizzed past and she glanced at the painted white words.

"Storybrooke?" She said to herself as the car sped along the empty road, going well over the speed limit, not that it mattered in this deserted area. "Never heard of it. Perfect."

 **"It's time," she told him, voice ringing in the high – ceilinged wall. "It's time for you to pay for what you've done."**

 **He turned and looked at her, beady eyes glinting over a hooked nose. Every inch of him radiated contempt and authority. He truly believed that he had earned the right to stand there and look down on her, like he hadn't clawed and murdered his way up there, destroying countless people's happiness on the way. He looked at her and said nothing.**

 **"Did you hear me, snake?" She snarled, taking a step forwards and raising her hands. "This is where the story ends for you."**

 **He was holding a thick leather bound book in his hands and he put it down, almost reverently, on a small table. Then he raised his hand and flicked his fingers, as casually as if he were flicking a speck of dust off his sleeve, and in the next moment she was flying backwards across the hall. She hit the floor as if she were no more than a rag doll, and let out a shriek of pain as her head smacked against stone.**

The town should have been visible by this point. She should see houses, and other cars. But there was nothing. No sign of life whatsoever. Her foot was flat on the acceleration, she dare not slow down, not now that she was so close to an escape. The car shot like a bullet along the long, straight road and she squinted ahead. There was nothing there, and yet…

Her fingers buzzed a little, almost vibrating against the steering wheel. She frowned, and as she did, a shiver went down her spine, causing goose bumps to appear on her arms. Something caught her eye and she frowned. Was that a line of neon pink spray paint on the ground? The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Something wasn't right here. Her mind was trying to convince her there was nothing there and every nerve in her body was screaming at her to turn around, to avoid this place completely. But she couldn't stop, couldn't think, if she did she'd be caught.

Why was she so on edge? If there really was nothing there then she'd just carry on driving until she got somewhere. But still, she couldn't shake the gut instinct that she was missing something, something very important.

 **The fight seemed to last for an eternity, and yet he said not a word. Not when she sent him reeling backwards to avoid being cloaked in fire, not when he had her bouncing off the large stone pillars that dotted around the hall. She was slowly but surely losing this battle, they both knew it and he was silent the entire time.**

 **Eventually she could fight no more and lay, exhausted and pained, spread eagled in the middle of the room. She couldn't even summon up the energy to teleport away, and so she waited for the inevitable. She had failed everyone. She had tried, and she had lost. He stood over her and silently watched the fight die in her eyes. She felt a little bubble of blood pop in the corner of her mouth, and almost laughed at how much the high and mighty princess had fallen. Then she saw his hand raise over her crumpled body, and closed her eyes.**

The closer she got to the neon pink line, the more she had to fight her body to keep going. It almost felt like someone was sitting behind her, trying to pull her hands off the wheel, or whispering in her ear that it really would be best to turn around and drive in the opposite direction. Any other time she would have given in, but there was something about this whole thing that set her on edge. She couldn't shake the feeling that there really was something there, something that for some reason, she wasn't seeing. It was like looking for something that seems inexplicably to be lost, then realising it was right in front of you the whole time.

She reached the line, and crossed over it. "There?" she said to herself, as the feeling that had been pressing on her disappeared almost immediately. "Nothing to be afraid of. So silly."

Then her hands flew off the wheel as the car exploded around her.

 **She was still alive, although her state of health was questionable. She also felt…odd. Confined, like she was trapped in a box of some sort. She tried to take a step forwards and fell chest first onto the floor of the hall. He stood in front of her, still silent, still watching her. Was that, pride in his eyes? It was so hard to think properly, her mind was so fuzzy. Why did her head feel so far away from the rest of her body? She attempted to stand up and let out a squawk when she overbalanced. Then she froze. Squawk? He was laughing, and as she forced her head to look up at him, he magicked a mirror out of thin air and held it in front of her face.**

 **At least, she thought it was her face she was looking at. Reflected in front of her eyes was a pure white swan, complete with large, heavy wings and webbed feet. The only thing that she recognised were the hazel eyes that stared back at her. She knew them well; they were her eyes, her mother's eyes. But in the swan's face (did she even have a face anymore? Or was she just a beak with eyes?) they were disconcerting, almost scary.**

 **He was still laughing at her, the dark magician so happy with his work. Before she had even realised what she was doing, her powerful beak had snapped out and clamped onto his arm, hard enough to cause the bone to break. He roared in agony and tried to shake her off, but still she held on. Her vision was growing smaller and smaller, and she was angry, Unreasonably angry. She was almost animalistic.**

 **His other hand flew out and he used dark magic to send her flying into the air. She would have hit a pillar but her wings flew out, completely of their own accord and propelled her wildly up towards the ceiling. She tried to let out an exclamation of surprise, but all that came was another harsh squawk. Trying desperately to gain some element of control over her new-found ability, she managed to unsteadily land.**

 **He was angry now, she could tell. The creature he had cursed her to be was not as weak and powerless as he had hoped. But he was not defeated yet. Turning on his heel, the magician raised both hands, and the great stained glass windows which stood at the end of the hall, behind the thrones that belonged to her, flew open. A gust of wind, ten times stronger than any breeze that could be created naturally, barraged into the hall and encircled her. No matter how desperately she beat her wings, the hurricane was too much and she was pulled out of the hall and thrown over the cliff, hurtling towards the rocks below.**

 **Somehow she managed to pull her wings free of the wind and reared up just in time to escape the sharp stones and crashing waves. She wasn't just flying, she was soaring through the air, and there was something exhilarating in it. As the castle that used to be her home came back into view over the cliff, she saw the archers. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of them, dotted along the parapets. She blinked, and looked again. They weren't even human, more like vaguely human shaped wisps of smoke, and the princess realised that they had been conjured from dark magic. This had been his plan all along she realised, stomach dropping. He wanted to take away her identity, who she had grown up believing she was, turn her into an animal and take her to slaughter.**

 **Well she'd be damned if she let him. Her father had always told her the importance of knowing when to fight and when to flee. She was no use like this, it was time to run and hide. In the blink of an eye, she had turned tail and was flying back over the endless sea, going as fast as she could to find shelter. In the ever increasing distance, she heard his voice as he yelled an order, and heard the sound of thousands of vicious black arrows being released from their bows. She began swerving wildly, trying not to become an easy target, and prayed to anyone that might still be watching over her, that she survived.**

It was hot and cramped, and the smoke that filled the air made her cough uncontrollably. The first thing she could register was that she was twisted in a very unnatural position, and her arms and potentially one of her legs, were broken. But she felt no pain. She felt light, unnaturally light, as if she could float away at any moment. She blinked, everything seemed to be moving very slowly. On reflection, perhaps she shouldn't have driven so recklessly in the middle of the night, if it had been the day someone may have been around to help. Her head was beginning to droop. She was so warm, and so tired. How long had it been since she'd slept? Certainly a while. She could sleep now, then find help in the morning. Yes, that seemed sensible.

Then, there was a great scraping moan as the metal roof of the car, which had been dented and pressed so close to the top of her head, was ripped away. She frowned and tried in vain to move her head, as spots of bright torch light shone on her face and her eyes. She just wanted to sleep. There was noise in the background, people talking? Or was it the ocean? Very distantly, she felt herself being pulled out of the wreckage of her poor car, but she was far too tired to think about what was happening. Someone was holding her against their chest, someone with a scratchy jacket but a warm body, so warm. It was a comforting combination, and she liked that they were holding her so gently, like she was precious cargo. She felt herself letting go of the last remnants of consciousness as somewhere, a dog started barking.

 **He made a noise of disgust and threw himself away from the window. It looked like she was too fast for even his arrows. Damn her! She had always had an uncanny knack for escape. It seems he would have to think of another plan to finally rid himself of the last surviving member of the royal family. Then he could finally rule in peace. He took a deep sigh and let himself relax. He could think about the troublesome princess another day, now was the time to celebrate in his victory. He had won the battle after all, he had managed to perform the curse with no trouble - although he should have known better than to turn her into a bird that could crush a man's arm with minimal exertion, not that it was any effort for him to fix his broken arm, he was the Dark Magician - and any support the Princess may have had, any sign of uprising from the scum that lived in his land. was now effectively crushed.**

 **His land. It felt wonderful to be able to finally say it. The plan that he had laid so carefully, so slowly and delicately, had been pulled off without a hitch. He was the victor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the book that he had been perusing when the Princess had barged without invitation (although entirely expected) into his Great Hall. It was a beautiful manuscript, bound in the finest leather money could buy. Palace scribes throughout the centuries had carefully added to it over the years, each design more beautiful and intricate than the last. He used a little magic to turn it to the last page that had been added to, the page he had been looking at before.**

 **It was a portrait of the Princess. The two previous pages held similar portraits of her parents, the two before her grandparents. It was a stunning, priceless family tree. He looked down at the painting. It had been done a little over three years ago, on her thirtieth name day, but she hadn't changed a bit. She was beautiful, any idiot could see that. Her features could not have been more perfect if she had been born from magic itself. Her thick, dark hair was pulled back into a braid that was falling apart in all the right places, and framed her tanned skin perfectly. She had a lot of her father's features; the high, arched eyebrows and the long straight nose, but it was her eyes that held others captivated when she spoke. They were almost doe –like in shape, large and oval, with pupils that mixed the colours of dark chocolate and emerald green together into an enchanting combination. They were her mother's eyes, and he felt something ugly twist in his stomach as he thought of her mother. On instinct, he reached out to turn the page and look at the portrait of the old Queen, but stopped himself. There was no point bringing up old, painful memories.**

 **Besides, he thought, soon he wouldn't have to look at any of them. It was almost bittersweet, really. He lifted his hand one final time, and held it steadily over the portrait of the young woman. It began to fade, from the outside in, until there was nothing but a blank page left. He smiled darkly as he felt all knowledge of the Princess disappear from every book in the castle. When the spell reached completion, there would be no information about the Princess that could be found for love nor money. And soon enough, when the people of his land died and were replaced by their children, and their children's children, they too would forget about this Princess, and the family that had come before her. There would only be him, their immortal King, and they would be bound to his will, sworn to fight his wars. He couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face at that inevitability.**

 **"Farewell," he hissed, "Princess Odette."**

* * *

 _As far as updates go, I really have no idea. Sometime within the next week, definitely, and then once I've got a few more chapters written and a clearer idea of what the heck I'm actually doing, I'll try and set myself certain days when I WILL update._

 _Please, if you enjoyed it, didn't enjoy it, have constructive criticism for me or even want to help me with the plot, do let me know by leaving a review. They're so much fun!_


	2. Chapter 2

_In this chapter: we see what Hook's currently up to and how our mysterious princess was actually found, mixed up with some flashbacks to her old life, of course._

 _Thank you so much to Maddie for her wonderful review, I'm so flattered that you think I'm doing well! Hopefully I can keep it up_

 _In case you couldn't see from the cover image, Odette is Mila Kunis' doppelganger because she is a stunning human being and her and Killian would be SUCH an attractive couple._

 _As far as where exactly this falls in the show, time – wise, I'm thinking just after Zelena, but before Elsa. And yes, I know they happen basically right after each other, but y'know. My story, my rules. So this entire story will take place between Season 3 and 4, and depending on how it goes I may carry on into Season 4 with her!_

 _Also, just to clarify, I have whole – heartedly jumped on the SwanQueen ship and am sailing along quite happily. So, although I won't actually be writing anything about the relationship between those two, that's the reason CaptainSwan isn't a thing. Although technically Odette/Hook's ship name would also be CaptainSwan…0_o_

 _Disclaimer; Sadly, I own nothing but the plot, dialogue and any unrecognisable characters._

* * *

"Look at what we have here. The finest fixture in the palace gardens; my daughter. Tell me, will you be socialising with other human beings at all today, or are you forsaking all company for the plants?"

Princess Odette jumped at the voice, and straightened her back. It was her father who had spoken, his voice ringing across the pristine lawns that spread out from the back of the palace, to where she knelt, pulling at a few resilient weeds that were spoiling the view of their roses. Smiling to herself at his jovial tone she stood up, wiping her hands on the dirty and well – worn apron that hung around her neck, and gave a mock – curtsy to his approaching figure.

"I'll stay with the plants, thank you Father. They're so much less annoying and inclined to disagree with me than people."

He chortled at her quick response and leaned forwards to peck her cheek. "If you could my child, I honestly believe you would. You'd leave us all behind and live in the forest with the plants and animals."

She frowned at his teasing tone, as he took her hand and tucked it under his arm. "Of course not! There are at least two people in the palace I can tolerate, I would be foolish to throw away such close friendships as those."

They laughed together as they walked back through the garden and up to the gate that led into the palace. Waiting next to it was her father's faithful right hand man, Lord Edgar, who rolled his eyes as he heard them sniggering.

"Sometimes I wonder if instead of being charged with the safety of the King and his family, I'm actually babysitting two children." He reprimanded them, although Odette could hear the clear amusement in his voice. She offered him her hand, which he kissed affectionately. He had been a young Lord at court when her father had been a Prince, they were each other's closest friends and he was as constant and reliable as the changing of the seasons.

"Good morning Edgar!"

"Good morning Your Highness. You will have to excuse us, the King is needed for the meeting of the Council of Nobles."

Odette gave a large sigh, which was only partly for dramatic effect. "My Lord, if it was up to you I would never see him, from dawn until dusk. But very well, I know when I can't win a fight." She removed her hand from her father's and turned towards the groundskeeper's shed, in order to dispose of her apron and gardening gloves. "You men go about your business, I will find somewhere else to cause mischief."

* * *

Killian doubted that there was any pleasure sweeter than the first sip (or gulp) of rum after a long day. And today had most definitely been a long day. After they had returned in time for the Charming's reveal of their new baby's name – Killian still wasn't sure about the name 'Neil' for a child, but who was he to talk – the party had broken up. Swan had left with Henry and the rest of the Charming brood in tow, the Crocodile and Belle had vanished somewhere and after the thief Robin Hood had taken his newly returned wife home, leaving Regina standing there almost hopelessly, the diner had emptied fairly quickly. The old woman who everyone called Granny, although she was far from the stereotypical kind, warm grandmother, kept shooting him pointed looks, clearly ready to close. But Killian was nowhere near finished, and decided that for every dirty look that was sent his way, he would extend his stay by five minutes.

He was a hero now, he supposed as he took another swig. He had been part of the group that had bested Pan, he had brought Emma back to protect Storybrooke and helped defeat Zelena. But still he felt isolated. Everyone had someone, even the grumpy Granny had her granddaughter. Being a villain had been lonely but at least he had had a purpose. Now that he and the Crocodile had reached a very uneasy truce and he was technically 'one of the good guys', he had no goal, nothing driving him to keep going. He was essentially sitting around until something else needed taking care of.

It wasn't like he had anyone for company, either. Even his ship was gone after he'd traded it for a magic bean. He supposed he and the sheriff were friends, (or at the very least she felt grateful to him for bringing her back) but still…

Every so often he would see the glances Charming and Snow White gave each other, and was reminded of Mira with a painful twist to the gut. Since her there had been no one meaningful, no one he desired beyond one night of drunken grasping. And it was lonely.

He jerked himself out of that particular train of thought and gave a bitter laugh. Better not fall too deep into a rum – induced gloom, he might never resurface. He was just about to down the rest of his drink and risk asking the old woman for another, when the quiet of the night was shattered by the demented barking of a dog.

Killian twisted in his booth and watched as the Dalmatian that belonged to the red headed psychiatrist ran past the glass door, followed a few seconds later by said owner. The bespectacled man threw open the door, struggling for breath.

"Granny, I think there's something going on at the town line! Pongo just smelled something coming from that direction and went crazy."

The old woman gave a sharp nod and pulled out a rifle from behind the bar. Killian immediately rethought his decision to ask for another rum. The doctor disappeared from the doorway and she was about to follow suit when she paused, then turned to him.

"Are you coming?"

Kilian was about to raise an eyebrow at her, but she had already disappeared. The pirate deliberated for a moment then, sighing, pulled himself out of his seat and headed for the door. Whatever was going on was probably interesting or dangerous and, he reasoned with himself as the cold wind made his leather coat fly out behind him like a cape, the more he helped the old woman the more likely he was to get a drink on the house.

* * *

"Your Majesty, you must sign the declaration!"

"And I tell you, I shall not!"

The last sentence was punctuated with a resounding slam of the King's fist into the thick mahogany of the circular table, but still the Lords held firm. There were seven of them in all; the King with Edgar immediately on his right, and five other noblemen from various districts in the kingdom. All of them were wise, kind and respected men, who had been by his side faithfully for many years, but right he was having trouble keeping his temper in check.

"I cannot believe what I'm hearing! You all propose that upon my death YOU as a group rule the kingdom in my daughter's stead?! To take the crown from my child, mine! Have you all become senile overnight?"

Lord Jericho, a quiet old man who had taught the Princess when she was a child, and was whispered to be the oldest man in the land, said softly. "You have raised Odette well, Your Majesty, none of us are denying that. She is kind, clever and can hold her own in a court full of men."

The King tapped his fingers on the table top in an impatient rhythm. "But...?"

"But she knows so little of the outside world, of her kingdom, its districts and its people." Joined Lord Sera, a hard faced man from the north of the kingdom. He was blunt with his tongue and quick to anger, but fiercely loyal to the royal family. "She is almost thirty - three years of age, but when was the last time she was outside the palace gates? She knows nothing of the people's world, of the day to day struggles they face. Even the peasants she gives food to at the gates are almost vetted by your servants before they are presented to her."

"My Lord, this is only a temporary measure." Said Lord Faraldar, a smart, perceptive man from the West, who had a skill for soothing tempers. "Upon your death we as a Council would take over the day to day running of the Kingdom, while the Princess travels through the land to learn the way the people live, to open her eyes to the realities of life outside the castle. She can take up her lessons again with Lord Jericho, re - learn what it takes to keep a kingdom together. When she has returned, we will happily step aside and loyally serve her as our Queen. The whole process may not even take a year.

The King breathed in deeply through his nose. Damn him for choosing such wise men for his council. He knew he had coddled his daughter after her mother's death, for fear of losing her too. But over time she had stopped asking to visit the Lords in their castles, stopped trying to wriggle past the guards and out of the gate, and he had just let it happen, because it was the easiest thing to do. He should have encouraged her curiosity, not let it die.

"And you, Lord Edgar?" He said to the man on his right. "What say you?"

Edgar was the only Lord who could get away with telling the King what he truly thought without fear of reprimand. "They are all right, Henry. Odette is wonderful and in time will be a ruler without equal, but she is naive. She knows no one outside the palace, has no life except within our gates. She cannot rule so unprepared. It has been many years since she had any formal education about how our kingdom works."

He placed his hand on his old friend's arm. "Under your leadership we have been blessed with many years of peace and prosperity. But outside forces that we cannot control could make the Princess' first years as Queen hard, even more so if she is unprepared for the grittier side of what her role entails."

"Not just my leadership." He said gruffly and the council relaxed under his cooling rage. Lord Sera leaned forward, a dark shadow passing over his face.

"There have been rumours my Lord, from the Enchanted Forest. They say the Evil Queen is growing stronger and stronger. Snow White is nowhere to be found and the Queen's rage causes the people much suffering."

King Henry stiffened. The kingdom had been dangerous enough when it was just The Dark One who lived there, but now that the dead King's wife was known to be an expert in dark magic, they were becoming a serious threat to his own kingdom of Annwin, whose borders touched the edge of the Forest. They had been on friendly terms when the old King had ruled, but once he had died, all communication had abruptly and rather suspiciously, stopped. If it was power and land the Queen wanted, Annwin would be in the most immediate danger. He couldn't leave his daughter to lead their people in a war, she wasn't ready.

He sighed. "Less than one year?" He said to Lord Faraldar, who nodded.

"If the Princess applies herself to her duty, then it will be over before any of us know."

The King rubbed his hands over his eyes in the manner of someone resigned to their fate. "Fine, just give me the damn thing. And one of you is going to think of how exactly I'm supposed to tell my daughter that she's unprepared to rule her kingdom."

* * *

The dog didn't have to lead them far before Killian's sharp eyes saw exactly what they were heading towards. A car, or at least something that used to be a car, sat just over the town line in a smoking, twisted pile of metal and melted tyre.

"What the hell is that?" Leroy growled, arms folded across his expansive chest. The dwarves had been out near the mine when the car had crossed the line, although no one was sure how exactly that had happened. Hearing an explosion, they had called David for help, and gone to have a ;ppl.

"That, mate," Hook replied, taking a step back from the heat that was rolling towards them. "is something new."

"But how did it even get past the town line?" Archie questioned, holding Pongo by the collar. "Gold's enchantment is still in place."

"It wouldn't be a problem to get past if whoever it was is more powerful than Gold." Leroy pointed out, and they all fell silent at the thought of someone more powerful than Gold in town.

The other dwarves had been crowded around the car, attempting to rip off the roof with various bits of machinery, as the doors were far too damaged to safely tamper with. With a mighty groan, they managed to tear the tarnished metal away. At the exact moment, David pulled up in his truck. He had barely turned the ignition off before he was throwing himself onto the road and striding over to where Killian stood.

"What's happened?"

Before anyone could answer, there was a shout from the car. "Hey! There's someone moving in here!"

Killian heard David curse to himself before the two men started striding towards the car. Surprised as he was by Prince Charming's expletive outburst, he had to agree with his sentiments. They had just managed to rid themselves of one threat to their lives, could they not have one moment of peace?

It was Happy that managed to pull the figure from the car and carry it away from the smoke. As he stepped into the yellow gleam of David's headlights, Hook stopped. It was a woman. Face turned towards Happy's chest, limbs twisted at an odd angle, and covered in some nasty cuts and bruises from whatever happened to her, but undeniably a woman. The dwarf was almost cradling her. "I think both her arms are broken." He said to David by way of explanation.

Charming sighed and glanced at Hook, who was frowning down at the crumpled shape in the Dwarf's arms. Something had settled in his stomach that made him feel uncomfortable. To get through an enchantment crafted by the Dark One himself…this woman must possess magic stronger than Storybrooke had ever witnessed. That could either be very good or very bad.

"Alright, let's get her to the hospital. When she's awake we can question her about what happened. The rest of you stay and see if there's anything else that can be saved from the car, anything that might give us a clue as to who she is." As Happy carried her to the truck, David muttered. "And let's just hope she's friendly." before following and driving the three of them away.

Hook supposed that left him in charge, not that any of them appeared to need any direction. They were surprisingly well organised and efficient for a rag – tag town of fairytale characters. They were all crowded around the car, trying to safely stop it from smoking and searching for any belongings at the same time.

"There's a satchel!" one of the dwarves barked at Killian, throwing it to him. The pirate caught it deftly with his hand, and used his hook to flick it open. It was a simple book bag, made out of worn leather that was a deep shade of brown. There was only a few things inside but oh, they were very interesting. A wallet holding ID that named the newcomer as Fleur Bradshaw, two sheets of something that looked more like parchment than paper, folded over so whatever was on them was hidden, tucked inside the cover of a small book that was written in a language Killian didn't understand. Next to those items was a delicate tiara, made out of something that looked a lot like pure silver, with a light green gemstone set directly in the middle, in the shape of a large tear. And in the depths of the bag, hidden so well he almost missed it, was one large swan feather.

He held it up. It was so pure white it glinted, even in the dark of the night. "Well, well, well Miss Bradshaw," he murmured to himself. "What on earth do we have here?"

* * *

Odette didn't know how to react when her father told her what had been decided in the Council meeting. Embarrassed, mostly. At thirty – three years old, she was considered – by some of the wisest men in the land – too naïve be Queen. The people who had educated her and looked after her as she grew up didn't want to be ruled by her. Women her age were married and having children, moving on with their lives and being responsible for entire families, and yet here she sat, feeling fulfilled because she had managed to make a garden look pretty.

"I've let everyone down." She said, and buried her face in her hands. Her father, sitting opposite her on the window seat in her bedroom, immediately leaned forwards and wrapped his arms around her.

"Oh no, my darling. No, no, no." He repeated as she tried not to cry into his chest. Say what you like about her ability to rule a kingdom, Princess Odette was exceedingly gifted at hiding how she really felt to the outside. It took her less than five seconds to control her breathing, pull away from her father's arms and paste a resigned smile on her face.

"Well, you didn't choose such wise men to be your advisors for nothing. Of course I'll do as they ask. Then maybe when I return, I'll finally be considered worthy." She couldn't stop the tinge of bitterness that stained the last sentence.

The King smiled sadly and cupped her cheek. "You cannot hide your emotions from me my darling, I know you are hurt, and rightly so. This is not what I would have wanted either. But the Lords have run the Kingdom for many years, their opinion of you personally is irrelevant when it comes to this. They must be sure that the new ruler will be able to treat both them, and the people who live in their districts, fairly."

He looked out of the window, past the palace gates, out into the great unknown. "When your mother died, almost twenty years ago now, my world shrank and shrank until the only thing I was able to care about was you. I was so terrified that I might lose you, and the number of ways I could was infinite. I should not have stopped you from visiting the children of the other Lords, or going to market day in the village with your Nanny. It was the Lords who reminded me that I was a King, that I had a duty to more than just myself and I will forever be in debt to them for reminding me of that. But I regret many things about the way I raised you."

Pulled back into reality, he smiled at her again. "But there is nothing about you that I regret in the slightest, my kind and beautiful daughter. And you will be a wonderful Queen someday, but it is important that you do this, for you, the people, and the Council. You must know when to fight and when to accept your fate."

Odette suddenly realised how old her father was, how tired he must be. He had been King for over four decades and she recognised that she owed it to him, to all the Kings and Queens in her family that had come before her, to be the best ruler that she could be. She smiled resignedly, for real this time.

"Of course Father. It is because of you, the Lords and the people that I am where I am today. They were right, I am naïve when it comes to life outside the palace. I will be very glad to do this for you."

He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I know you will. And you will do it admirably." He laughed. "But I am not planning on going anywhere for a while yet my dear, do not worry. Now," with a great heave, he lifted himself up from the window seat and walked towards her bedroom door. "I have to go and see Lord Sera. Apparently two of the stable boys snuck four piglets into his chambers and he is braying for their blood."

Odette laughed. "He should be less inclined to anger towards acts like that, considering some of the things he got up to when he was a boy!"

The King shushed her and winked. "Hush child, if he ever found I've told you half of what he did as a youngster, he'd have my head!"

She laughed again, and he paused in the doorway, shooting her a look filled with that special kind of love shared only between a father and daughter. "I am so proud of you Odette, you cannot know how much."

The Princess smiled, feeling her chest constrict with emotion quite suddenly. "I love you, Father."

"And I you, daughter. And I you."

With that, he withdrew, and she heard him stomping down the corridor, shouting for Lord Sera. She took a deep breath and looked out of the window. It would not be so bad really, she would get to see the entire land. And when she returned she would be a Queen worthy of the throne that her Father sat on. Yes, she decided, it really was not so bad.

That day was the last time she ever saw her Father alive.

* * *

 _This chapter is almost 4,000 words in total. Wow. That will definitely NOT be a theme throughout the rest of this fic! I hadn't even planned on making this chapter so long, there just didn't seem to be anywhere appropriate to end it until the end!_

 _In the next chapter: What happens in Annwin (Odette's kingdom) after her father's death, and in Storybrooke, Fleur wakes up in hospital…_

 _If you have anything to say about this at all, drop us a review, we can have a lil chat!_


	3. Chapter 3

**First off, let me say SORRY for taking so long to update this, it's assessment time and it's getting a little bit crazy! I've actually had the majority of this written for about a week but got caught up doing other stuff. Hopefully this will make up for it!**

 **In other news, Enya's new album comes out in 10 days, anyone else as excited as me? Anyone? Is that a hand at the back? No, cool, cool.**

 **Disclaimer: Sadly, anyone recognisable is not owned by me.**

* * *

Dr Whale had taken one look at the woman in Happy's arms when the three of them had burst into his ER, and leapt into action. Almost before David had registered it, the woman had been taken and carried away by a rather tall and imposing male nurse.

"Who is she, what happened?" The doctor asked as they followed the nurse into one of the hospital rooms.

"We don't know," David said, watching the nurse lay her down and begin to examine the cuts on her skin. "We found her car at the town line, it had managed to cross but it was damaged. Badly. It's a miracle she's still alive."

"It's only a miracle if she isn't a hell bent villain intent on destroying the town." Whale replied bluntly and brushed past them to assist the nurse. David narrowed his eyes. He wasn't fond of the doctor, and not just because of his history with Snow. He was too cocky, arrogant, and overall just not a nice person. But he was a damn good doctor, and if it was possible to heal the stranger he would find a way. Then maybe she could tell them who exactly she was.

Happy's phone buzzed loudly, and he pulled it out and held it to his ear. "Hello…yeah…really? Wow…alright I'll tell him. Yep. Bye."

"What is it?" David said as soon as he'd signed off.

"The guys found a bag in the car. Hook's got it, Leeroy says he's on his way to Mary Margaret's now, whatever it is he thinks Emma and Regina should see it."

David swore quietly and rubbed his eyes. They'd narrowly escaped with their lives not even twenty – four hours ago, could they not have one moment of peace?

"Okay…looks like we're in for a long night. Can I leave you to explain the details to Whale while I go home and tell them what's going on?"

Happy nodded, "Of course. I'll wait for the rest of the guys here, and let you know if anything happens."

He clapped the Dwarf on his shoulder in thanks, turned on his heel and strode towards the exit, pulling his phone out and dialling Regina's number. "God help us all if we wake baby Neil."

* * *

It was the sunniest, warmest, most beautiful day of the year when Odette found out her Father was dead. Of course it was. Her Father could never die on a bad day, it had to be beautiful, to match his spirit.

She had been eating breakfast in her chambers when Edgar had quietly knocked and opened her bedroom door, face white as starch and lips were drawn in a thin line. She had thought maybe there had been a raid on one of the outlying villages, or at the very worst, one of the Lords was gravely ill.

When asked about it later, she couldn't quite remember what exactly he had told her. Words and phrases like "so sorry…don't know what happened…found this morning…" kept swirling around her head, fading in and out of meaning. Memories were fractured, jagged and sharp. She remembered being stood in a pile of shattered china and spilled food, Edgar's arms holding her tight while something like a scream left her mouth. Later, her maids came to bathe her in a tub of steaming water, scrubbed her pink then wrapped her in a robe that could have been soft, she didn't know. Later still, they presented her with a dress, then pushed and pulled and tugged until she was swathed in the fabric. The black fabric. The eyes that stared back from her looking glass were haunted, watching everything that happened around them without noticing any of it.

* * *

"Will she be alright?" Snow asked, wringing her hands together. Regina rolled her eyes. Trust her to be more concerned about the well – being of the stranger rather than the damage they could do to all of them. The entire thing set her on edge. Gold was far, far more powerful than her, than Zelena, even more than Pan, but the dagger ensured some element of control over him, especially now that it was in Belle's hands. If someone could get through an enchantment he created, someone whose power didn't seem to be controlled at all, who knows what could happen.

"We don't know." Charming replied. "Her cuts were deep, but hopefully not too bad. But who knows what's going on inside her body."

"Magic will protect her there." The Queen said. "If the magic she has isn't being controlled by anyone else, it will have protected anything deeper than her skin."

"It looks like she'll make a full recovery then." The prince said to the room.

"Which could be very bad." Emma replied, arms folded.

"Or very good?" Mary Margaret interjected, always the optimist. "If she's good. David, are you sure you didn't recognise her? She could still be someone from the Enchanted Forest."

"How does that help us exactly?" Emma frowned.

"For one thing, it means she'll know who we are," her father pointed out. "It's a point of connection, something we can use even we don't know who exactly she is. But no." He shook his head. "She was covered in dirt and bruises, but I didn't know her."

"The Enchanted Forest was surrounded by various kingdoms though," Regina said, then added, "in all directions. Who knows where she came from."

"Where who came from?"

Henry was awake, yawning on the stairs that led to his bed in the attic.

"No one." Emma said quickly, turning to usher him back to bed, but the boy was having none of it.

"No, I want to know what's going on. It's because of me that we're all here now."

Regina gave a tight lipped smile as Emma sighed. He was stubborn, just like her.

"That's the thing kid, we don't actually know who they are."

"Correction." Came a voice from the doorway, and they all turned to see Hook walking in, a worn leather satchel swinging in his hand. "We _didn't_ know who she was. I think there's plenty in here to answer your questions. And possibly ask a few more."

Regina made a grab for it, but Hook held it out of reach. "I don't think so, Your Highness. This is of equal interest to everyone, and are you forgetting who brought it to you?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. She hated pirates.

"Why would she even come to Storybrooke though?" Henry asked as they all crowded around the wooden table. "Belle told me the spell Mr. Gold gave her kept people away by making them want to avoid it completely, even though they wouldn't see anything."

"If her magic is more powerful than Gold's then the spell may not have had an effect on her." Regina said to him gently. "And I don't know why she would want to come to town, which is worrying."

"Maybe she knows someone from here? Or just wanted to be around others with magic?" Emma suggested. "But those are still just possibilities. Anyway Hook, what did you find?"

"ID." The pirate replied, holding out a wallet to Emma, who pulled out the driver's license.

"Fleur Bradshaw, born in 1981. She's beautiful."

That was an understatement. Even in the grainy identification photograph, the woman's beauty was almost discomfiting. High arched eyebrows, cupids bow lips, with thick brown hair that was pulled back, revealing a long, elegant neck. Her eyes were massive and blue, a shade Regina had never seen before. This was no girlish cutie like Snow White or the librarian Gold was infatuated with. This was a woman, bold and proud, staring right at her with an unflinching look. It was a look Regina recognised well, she had used it throughout her life. It was a deliberate blank canvas that revealed nothing of the inner splashes of colour.

It made her less inclined to trust this Fleur, anyone that beautiful had a hidden agenda, she had experienced it, she had _done_ it. It would only be so long until they found out what it was.

"That's not all," Hook said, and they all dragged their eyes away from the suspiciously beautiful face. Regina glanced to the side and saw David frowning slightly, as if he recognised the woman, in some way shape or form. She was going to ask him what was wrong, when Hook tipped the bag upside down, and the crown fell out.

With a gasp, she snatched it up. She had heard tales of this, ever since she was a girl. Her mother had been obsessed with finding it, and that obsession had infected Regina too. In the last few years before the curse she had searched the length and breadth of the kingdom for it, with no luck.

"What is it?" Emma said, watching as Regina turned it over in her hands, touching it in a way that was almost reverent.

"This, Miss Swan," The Evil Queen replied. "is the single most powerful magical object in existence. The Crown of Arkith."

* * *

There was only one thing over the next few weeks that stuck in Odette's mind with any clarity, and that was the funeral. Every second of that was burned into her brain for eternity. The church had been filled to the rafters, everyone in the kingdom was been invited and people spilled into corners and out of the main doors. She could hear the whispers of the people, their sorrow that the good old king was dead, their hope that she would be able to rule as well as he had, and even a few who wondered why she seemed so unemotional.

But Princess Odette had been trained since birth to be able to control both her emotions and her facial expressions. The look of schooled sadness was a mask that hid the inner madness. She wanted to scream, topple benches, tell them all to get out, they weren't worthy of being his subjects anyway; he was a better man and a better king than they deserved. But she had been taught well, and no one suspected a thing. Except perhaps Edgar. He had kept a tight grip on her arm throughout the entire funeral. She didn't know if it was to keep her from flying into an uncontrollable rage, or to keep himself grounded.

Her Father lay in a casket of gilded bronze filled with tulips that were a marbled blood red and snow white, the kind only she and the palace gardeners knew how to grow. He was wearing matching clothes; a deep red velvet coat and leather boots, matched with a formal white shirt and trousers. She could have laughed when she saw him, he had always hated that outfit, usually wearing a plain shirt over black trousers and boots. He didn't even look like himself, he was so pale, and so _old_. It was a sharp reminder that he was really gone.

She stood stoically throughout the service, listened to the Lord's wax poetry about his many qualities, walked up to the coffin with Edgar and placed one single tulip in his clasped hands, then watched as the priests slowly lowered the lid on his coffin, and covered it with a sheet of white silk. She had refused the Lord's request that she make a speech, reminding them bitterly that they were now the rulers of the kingdom. She couldn't look at her people and tell them in hollow words how she felt about her father dying. It was a disservice to both them and her.

She was an orphan now. In a land that was hers and yet not hers, with people who served her and yet also ruled her. The Lord's would only give her so much time to grieve before she would be sent away. But how could she think of leaving her home now, when memories of her Father were seared into every brick, every stalk of grass. She had to stay until the splintered remains of her heart had reformed into something like what it used to be, until she had soaked up all the recollections, all the times spent together, good and bad, then she could go.

Odette took a deep breath in and smelled the church, the smell of sadness and the cold. To her surprise, a single tear fell onto her cheek. She gently touched it and looked at the small wet mark on her black velvet glove. She hadn't cried since Edgar first told her. It seemed like an inadequate reaction to how she felt.

She didn't know how long she stood there, staring at the silk covered coffin. It was only when the setting sun cast deep orange rays onto her face did she blink and turn her head. Everyone had gone. Everyone except Edgar. He was stood a few feet behind her, giving her his quiet support like he had all her life. She blinked again. It hurt to breathe, like salt was being rubbed into the gaping would where her heart had been.

"I'm cold." She said quietly. That was something, she supposed. At least she was feeling something. Her father's best friend nodded and offered her his arm. By sheer force of will alone, she made her feet move towards him, and her arm take his.

He led her out of the church, away from the darkening night and away from her father. "The sun will rise again, you know." Edgar told her.

"But what will it bring with it?"

 **Reviews? They're like being greeted at the door by your favourite OUAT crush, who pulls you in for a night of *wink wink, nudge nudge* just because they missed you.**


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